Continue Conversation

Continue Conversation

This skill helps you resume previous work by building context from the Basic Memory knowledge graph, enabling seamless continuation across sessions.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new session and need to pick up where you left off
• User mentions previous work ("continue with...", "back to...", "where were we with...")
• Need context about ongoing projects or specs
• User asks about something discussed in a previous conversation
• Working on a multi-session task

Building Context

1. Identify What to Continue

Ask if unclear:

• What topic or project to resume?
• What timeframe to look at?
• Any specific aspect to focus on?

2. Gather Context with MCP Tools

Option A: Known Topic - Use build_context

# Navigate knowledge graph from a known starting point
mcp__basic-memory__build_context(
    url="memory://topic-or-note-name",
    depth=2,           # How many relation hops to follow
    timeframe="7d",    # Recent changes
    project="main"     # or "specs" for specifications
)

Memory URL formats:

• memory://note-title - Single note
• memory://folder/* - All notes in folder
• memory://specs/SPEC-24* - Pattern matching

Option B: Recent Activity - What's been happening?

# See what's changed recently
mcp__basic-memory__recent_activity(
    timeframe="3d",    # "1d", "1 week", "2 weeks"
    depth=1,
    project="main"
)

Option C: Search for Context

# Find relevant notes
mcp__basic-memory__search_notes(
    query="search terms",
    page_size=10,
    project="main"
)

3. Read Key Notes

Once you identify relevant notes:

mcp__basic-memory__read_note(
    identifier="note-title-or-permalink",
    project="main"
)

4. Present Context to User

Summarize what you found:

• Current state of the work
• Recent changes or progress
• Open items or next steps
• Related context that might be helpful

Context Strategies by Scenario

Resuming a Spec Implementation

# 1. Read the spec
mcp__basic-memory__read_note(
    identifier="SPEC-24: Postgres Database Migration",
    project="specs"
)

# 2. Check recent activity on related topics
mcp__basic-memory__build_context(
    url="memory://SPEC-24*",
    timeframe="7d",
    project="specs"
)

# 3. Look at what's been done in the codebase
# (Use regular file tools for this)

Continuing General Work

# 1. Check recent activity across projects
mcp__basic-memory__recent_activity(
    timeframe="3d",
    project="main"
)

# 2. Read any notes from recent sessions
mcp__basic-memory__read_note(
    identifier="relevant-note",
    project="main"
)

Following Up on a Topic

# 1. Search for the topic
mcp__basic-memory__search_notes(
    query="topic keywords",
    project="main"
)

# 2. Build context from best match
mcp__basic-memory__build_context(
    url="memory://found-note-permalink",
    depth=2,
    project="main"
)

Timeframe Reference

Natural language timeframes:

• "today" - Current day
• "yesterday" - Previous day
• "3d" or "3 days" - Last 3 days
• "1 week" or "7d" - Last week
• "2 weeks" - Last 2 weeks
• "1 month" - Last month

Project Reference

Project names are user-specific. To discover what's available:

mcp__basic-memory__list_memory_projects()

Routing rules (when to use which project) live in ## Projects of ~/.basic-memory/basic-memory.md if configured.

Example Conversations

User: "Let's continue with the Postgres migration"

1. Read SPEC-24 from specs project
2. Check for related notes about implementation progress
3. Summarize:
   - Spec overview and goals
   - What's been completed (checkmarks)
   - What's pending (checkboxes)
   - Any blockers or decisions needed

User: "What was I working on yesterday?"

1. Get recent activity for last 2 days
2. List modified notes with brief descriptions
3. Ask which topic to dive into

User: "Back to the async client pattern"

1. Search for "async client pattern"
2. Build context from matching note
3. Include related notes via relations
4. Present the full picture

Best Practices

1. Start broad, then narrow - Get overview first, then specific details
2. Follow relations - Knowledge graph connections are valuable
3. Check multiple projects - Specs might be separate from implementation notes
4. Present incrementally - Share what you find as you go
5. Confirm understanding - Verify the context is what user needs
6. Update as you go - Capture new progress in notes during the session

Combining with Other Skills

After building context, you might:

• Use knowledge-capture to document new progress
• Create new notes linking to the context you gathered